03/25/2013

Will Portman on disclosing his sexual orientation in Yale student newspaper

... I worried about how my friends back home would react when I told them
I was gay. Would they stop hanging out with me? Would they tell me they
were supportive, but then slowly distance themselves? And what about my
friends at Yale, the “Gay Ivy”? Would they criticize me for not having
come out earlier? Would they be able to understand my anxiety about all
of this? I felt like I didn’t quite fit in with Yale or Cincinnati, or
with gay or straight culture.

In February of freshman year, I decided to write a letter to my
parents. I’d tried to come out to them in person over winter break but
hadn’t been able to. So I found a cubicle in Bass Library one day and
went to work. Once I had something I was satisfied with, I overnighted
it to my parents and awaited a response.

They called as soon as they got the letter. They were surprised to
learn I was gay, and full of questions, but absolutely rock-solid
supportive. That was the beginning of the end of feeling ashamed about
who I was. ...